The Durham Chief Executive, David Harker, believes the Riverside outfit can overcome the huge loss of captain and top batsman Mike Hussey.

Harker, however, who faced the Durham members at the club's AGM last night, admitted Hussey would be a tough act to follow.

The left-hander had to wait until he was 30 before he was recognised at international level and he's made up for lost time with brilliant performances for Australia.

Overlooked for the Ashes series last summer, Hussey made a major impact in the one-day series against England.

The Victoria ace has gone on to blaze a trail at Test level and is now a key member of the Australia squad where his attention to detail has earned him the nickname of "Mr Cricket."

But Hussey's elevation to cricket's top table has seen the Australia Cricket Board prevent him from returning to Durham for a second season.

Not only will the Riversiders be robbed of a talismanic captain and opening bat, they'll also have to do without Hussey's athleticism in the field.

Harker said: "You can't lose a player of Hussey's quality without it having an impact, and he's possibly the top batsman in world cricket at the moment. We couldn't understand why he had to wait so long to be given his chance at international level and he did a great job at Durham.

"It wasn't a huge surprise that he wasn't allowed to come back because the ACB want to protect their key players, but there's every indication he'll return to Durham in the future."

Hussey scored 254 on his Durham debut at Leicester last year and went on to score 1,074 championship runs.

The former Northants player topped the second division batting averages with an average of 76.7 and had expected to be a pivotal part of Durham's first division campaign.

Hussey is replaced at the Riverside by fellow Aussie opener Jimmy Maher, whose four championship innings as replacement overseas batsman last year yielded just 18 runs.

"Maher had little chance last season as he had just stepped off the plane," added Harker, "but his return will have a positive affect and he's desperate to prove himself in county cricket."